


Keep Flying, Baby

by Isaac_Potato



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Angst, Cute, Fluff, Homophobic Language, M/M, Sad, gays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 12:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12557828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isaac_Potato/pseuds/Isaac_Potato
Summary: The 1940s wasn't an easy time to be gay. Especially not in Buies Creak, North Carolina.





	Keep Flying, Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Some things are not factual but it's great please read it I'm a slut for reads.
> 
> (Also please ignore it if the names are wrong please and thank you)

"Class, we have a new student," Father Matthew spoke to his first grade classroom. He motioned to a small boy who was looking at the floor, his moppy brown hair the only thing visible.

"His name is Charles. Please, welcome him." 

"Hi, Charles!" the class greeted in unison. Charles shyly waved and Father Matthew pointed to an empty seat next to a boy with dirty blonde hair. Charles looked up curiously, and blushed as him and the boy made eye contact. 

"Charles, why don't you go over and sit next to Rhett, okay?" Father Matthew told him and Charles nodded, clutching his books tighter and trudging to the back of the room Father Matthew just pointed to. He sat down, the old wooden chair crying out. Charles put his notebook and pencil on the wood desk, the pencil rolled a little, making a strange noise as it did. 

Charles felt a tap on his shoulder and immediately looked over at what did it. The boy he had made eye contact with was staring straight at him. Charles looked at his facial features, his striking green eyes standing out the most.

"Hi, I'm Rhett." The boy told him, sticking out his hand. He looked at Charles expectingly, waiting for the boy to react.

Charles hesitantly shook Rhett's hand and said, "I'm Charles. But everyone calls me Link." Rhett smiled at him. 

"Would you want to spend time at my house after class today?" Rhett asked Link.

"W-Well... I guess so..." Link answered and Rhett smiled widely, facing forward again and paying attention to the maths lesson that was happening on the board. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

After class that day, Rhett ran to where Link was standing at a tree.

"Link! Do you still want to come over my house?" Link sheepishly nodded and Rhett grabbed his hand with one hand, the other clutching his books tighter. He started running, causing Link to stumble a little bit after him, until catching his balance and running with the boy. 

Soon, they were standing outside of Rhett's house. Link stared in awe at it. He was raised in the city and they had small properties, but Rhett's yard was huge and looked as if it went on for miles. His house was still fairly small, though. "Link? Are you coming in or not?" Link snapped out of his thoughts, before looking at Rhett and nodding.

When they walked in, they could hear the radio sounding loudly through the house, with the Charlie and Lester show. "Good afternoon, people! How are we all doing today?" Lester's loud voice yelled through the speakers.

Link immediately smiled, remembering one time he got to watch their show being broadcasted. His mother and father had brought him and his siblings to Charleston one weekend, and they watched the show through the glass of the radio station. "I love them!" Rhett cheered and set his books on the kitchen table before sliding into a chair, Link following his actions.

"Well, Lester, the listeners can't answer you!" Charlie said and Lester chuckled.

"No, they can't! Alright, onto the news, in recent celebrity news, Louise released a new song called Shoo Bop. It's a scat song, and it's coming up next, so be on the lookout for that!" Lester told the listeners in his usually cheery voice.

"Also in recent news,-" Rhett's mother came in and turned off the radio, not liking her son listening to their talk show. They talked about what she referred to as "adult things" that Rhett wasn't allowed to hear about until he was older.

"Hello, Rhett. Who's you're friend?" She asked her son.

Rhett smiled when she mentioned Link, and answered her question. "His name's Link. He just moved here."

His mother chuckled. "Hello, Link. Where did you move here from?" She asked the blond haired boy.

"New York City..." He mumbled in answer. 

"Oh, New York, that's nice! So why did you guys move down to Raleigh?" She asked him.

"My dad got a new job." He answered and Rhett's mom sighed at his quietness. 

"Alright, well why don't you two go play outside, dinner will be ready soon." She told them and Rhett nodded, guiding Link to the backyard. 

"Do you wanna see something cool?" Rhett asked and Link hesitantly nodded. Rhett grabbed his hand and started running, just like he did when they left school. He kept running, giggling every now and then which had Link giggling in return. He stopped running when they hit the edge of some woods. Link looked back and noticed Rhett's house was barely visible. He tugged at Rhett's sleeve, gaining the other boy's attention. 

"Rhett, why are we out here so far? Your mom said dinner would be ready soon..." Rhett could tell Link was nervous about being late to supper, so he grabbed his hand once more, in a sort of comforting manner.

"It'll be okay, I come out here all of the time! It's really cool, come on, I'll show you." Rhett brought Link to a little path in the trees and Link almost stopped. The shadows on the ground reminded Link of a monster's mouth with razor sharp teeth. He followed Rhett anyway, for some reason he trusted the boy he'd just met. They walked for about five minutes, which to kids feels like five hours, until Rhett stopped him in front of some shop.

"What is it..." Link asked him. 

Rhett shrugged. "I don't know, but it's really cool." He answered and let go of Link's hand. Link suddenly felt cold and when Rhett walked into the small shop, Link ran over so he wasn't left behind. 

Link looked around, awed for the second time that day. The doors were small doors you would see on buildings in old Western movies. There was a bar with different colored glasses behind it and lots of chairs and tables. There were stairs but they were missing the middle of them, so it looked dangerous. There were leaves and glass shards covering the floor and some of the painting on the walls were chipped.

"It's cool, right?" Rhett asked and Link nodded. Rhett brought him over to the stairs, to a door underneath. "I got a whole bunch of fake guns, to play Cowboys and Indians. My dad loves to read stuff about them. And then back behind the bar I have drinks and snacks I got from home. Also in the back room over there I have board games and stuff."

"Do you not live at home?" Link asked, confused as to why all of Rhett's stuff is here.

"No, I just come here when my parents start yelling..." Rhett trailed off. He looked outside and noticed it was getting dark. "We better start going back to my house, my mom will get upset if we're late. We can come back tomorrow because we don't have class, right?" Rhett said and Link nodded. They left the building and started running back to Rhett's house. When they got there, Rhett's father was sitting in a chair at the table and his mother was calling down Rhett's older brother, Cole. 

Rhett and Link sat down at the table and Cole joined soon after. Rhett's mother started putting the dinner on the table and glanced at Link. "Will your parents be upset that you aren't home for dinner?" She asked and Link got the sneaking suspicion that she wanted him to leave.

"No. I usually go deliver the night papers at dinner time." He said, almost in a whisper. 

Rhett's mother sat down and took the mashed potatoes. "So, Link," Rhett's father started as he took some chicken. "How many siblings do you have?" He asked.

"Five... two brothers and three sisters..." He answered.

Rhett looked over at him, surprised they have such a big family. "Wow, that must be hard for your mom!" Cole exclaimed. 

"Actually, it's just my dad..." He mumbled. Rhett once again looked surprised. 

"Are you the oldest?" Rhett's mom asked and Link shook his head. After that, conversation about Link's family was over, but Rhett kept glancing over at Link, concerned about why he looked so sad at the mention of his mom. After they ate dinner Mrs. McLaughlin told Rhett to take Link home. While they were walking Rhett decided to ask about it. 

"What happened to your mom?" Rhett asked and Link looked over at him shocked. 

"Nothing." He answered. Rhett furrowed his brow as he looked at the boy.

"But you said it was just your dad..." Rhett stated quietly.

"She's fine. She's just not staying with us. She's somewhere nicer, that's what my dad told me." Link answered. "She's there with three of my brothers and sisters too." 

"Oh." Rhett said, as he just got it. "So, where are they?"

"Somewhere with the angels. He said she can fly! How cool is that? My mom has wings!" Link excitedly said, spreading his arms and running in a zig-zagged motion, stopping to wait for Rhett.

"Do you miss them?" Rhett asked. Link looked a little sad. 

"Yeah. But if they're happy where they are, then it's okay." Link answered him. They walked in silence after that and Link stopped in front of a house. The property was smaller than Rhett's, but the house was a little larger. "Alright, well, bye. We can play tomorrow?" Link asked and Rhett nodded. He waved goodbye and started running down the dirt path to his house. 

Link walked into his house and saw his father washing dishes. "Well, hello, Link. What had you out all night?" He asked, glancing up at Link from the cup he was washing.

"A boy from school asked me to come over his house. His names Rhett and they live down the road." Link answered and put his book-sling onto the back of the kitchen's chair.

"Oh, that was nice of him. Did you guys have fun?" He asked and turned off the sink. 

"Yeah. He has one brother. Just one! I think his name was Bowl." Link scrunched up his face and giggled. His father chuckled and glanced at the clock to see the time. 

"Looks like it's time for you to go to sleep, bud. Come on, I'll tuck you in." His father told him. Link nodded and started to follow his dad upstairs. 

He slept soundly that night, he hadn't done that since his mother died a year ago. Always having night terrors about having to leave his family like his mom and older siblings, or always waking up joyed, dreaming his mother came home, and bursting into tears when he noticed she was still gone. But that night, for some reason, he was able to bury those thoughts with excitement about seeing Rhett the next day. 

And that continued for a while. Rhett and Link would spend days after school playing tag in Rhett's yard, and days they had off of school going to the house Rhett had shown Link the first day they met, and they'd play Cowboys and Indians. Or they'd have pretend stand-offs with Rhett's toy guns. Rhett always let Link win. 

Link always slept soundly, and Link's father was grateful.


End file.
